Some Days Are Better Than Others

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Patch loves to snuggle with his Dad every night.

Our dog Patch has his good days and bad days. If you don’t know about his Cerebellar Hypoplasia click this link. Some days he is just your typical drunk looking dog. He wobbles and smiles to beat the band. Mr. Bernie and I are to the point that we don’t even notice the head bobs, his arch backed when he plays or his Lipizzaner Stallion walk. The fact that he looks like a bobbing bird when he drinks doesn’t even phase us anymore.

Today was not one of those days. Today was a day when the poor guy can only crawl to get around. When his Dad gets up he has to crawl to get to him. He pants from the effort by the time he gets to where he wants to go. When his Dad scratches his ears he gives a huge smile to show his Dad he loves him. Then he flops down on the ground from the effort.

Mr. Bernie and I are used to Patch and don’t notice a lot of what other folks do. We were talking this morning about how this morning is one of those days we notice. That our hearts are being tugged on while he tries to crawl to get to his “sister” Katie.

I went to take Katie outside this morning and Patch couldn’t walk. His head started bobbing because he know it was time to go out. I took Katie outside and he crawled across the kitchen floor and all the way to our back hall on his tummy. He is very determined to not miss out on what his sister is doing. He looks like he is doing a frog swim with his hind legs. He pulls himself forward and pushes with his back legs to move forward to get outside. Lots of panting is involved when he does this. He sounds like he has been running a marathon. I heard him by the back door and opened it and he was panting and crawled out the door. He started to cry when he reached the back step because he knew he couldn’t make it down the steps on his own. I grabbed his collar to guide him and we went down one step. By the time we got to the second step, he leaned against me hard, just resting and panting. I left him alone and thought he would just rest there but he saw Katie and had to get to her. He started to flail to get down to the ground and I helped him down. He rested a bit more and my heart broke a bit more.

When he finally re-cooped a bit he started to do his high crawl to Katie. His head is held up high, as if he is trying to stay above water and he pushes with his back legs. Once Katie realized he was there, she ran to him and threw him on the ground and started to wrestle with him. Somehow that re-boots his brain, trying to play with her. She throws him down and jumps on his head and tosses him to the side. He fights back and is able to start moving again. He is not to his “normal” movement, but just enough to play with her.

Some days are better than others. Some days we just go along with Patch’s normal. Always surprised when someone sees something we take for granted and their heart hurts for him. This morning it was our turns for our hearts to hurt a little

The link below is a video we made of Patch about 6 months ago. I can’t get it to load on my blog, but if you click it you can see what I’m talking about and his determination!

Comments

I had a dog named Patch too! He was a terri-poo, white with a black spot over one eye & beautiful! He was 13 years old when I let the vet put him down. He was diabetic & I had to give him shots of insulin every day. He was blind from cataracts due to diabetes. If he was sleeping & I got up to go to the bathroom, he would run around the house, whining & looking for me everywhere until he found me again. Towards the end, his sugars were so messed up & he hated to go to the vet, so the vet allowed me to adjust his insulin based on his daily sugar. I would have to very quietly follow him outside in the morning & gather a sample in a paper cup when he would lift his leg. When he stopped eating altogether I had no choice but to make it easier for him to go. People used to look at Patch & me with pity, but he had a great life & I loved him to the very end.

You know how much everyone loves Patch !!! He is so determined and persistent. I know some humans who should take a page out of his book and not blame everyone else for their “problems” and do what they can to make life better on their own. Patch has proven that he has a good life with you and loves you and “Dad” beyond belief. You are all so lucky to be a part of each other’s lives.

Thank you. We are pretty lucky to have him. If any dog should mope, it should be Patch. We are lucky he doesn’t know anything else. I think it would be harder if he started out as an fully abled dog and then had this happen.

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Welcome to my own little slice of cyberspace. My blog is just an eclectic mix of anything that happens to cross my mind. There is no rhyme or reason here. I'm married to "Mr. Bernie" who helps give me reasons to blog. I help to run Rez Dog Rescue here in Montana. I'm President of The Museum of Women's History and I'm host of their t.v. show. I love to make cards with weird off beat designs. Feel free to check out my About page to learn more. Thank you for stopping by! Read More…